Raku firing at "The Great Create" 13th and 14th August 2011.

Vera and I will be demonstrating Raku firing at "The Great Create" , Greenways, Galmpton on the Meet the Artists days 13th and 14th August 2011.

Raku - is a Japanese word freely interpreted as "enjoyment". It was an ideograph engraved on a gold seal and given by the emperor HIDEYOSHI in 1598 to CHOJIRO who produced wares of refined simplicity for the Zen Buddhist Tea Ceremony.
Raku thereby became his family title. Chojiro is credited with being the first to produce low-fired glazed pottery by a direct process which involved putting pots into and taking them out of a red hot kiln. In Japan the ware was chiefly used for the tea ceremony. Raku glazes melt at 900c long tongs and mittens are used to remove the piece from thr kiln at that temperature and then treated in different ways :-
Reduction - Cooling with sprinkled water gives areas of small crackle,burying in sawdust alters colours and creates lustres.
Oxidation - Allowing the pot to be amply supplied with oxygen, which causes the metals in the clay and glazes to give their oxide colours.
Peter Stride

For more information visit http://www.thegreatcreate.co.uk/